The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Brachycome plant, botanically known as Brachycome hybrid and referred to by the cultivar name `Compact Amethyst`.
The new Brachycome is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the program is to create new compact Brachycome cultivars that flower early, are easy to propagate, have uniform plant habit, are tolerant to temperature extremes, and have inflorescences with attractive ray floret color.
The new Brachycome originated from a cross by the Inventor in 1994 of the Brachycome hybrid cultivar `Billabong Bright Eyes` (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,192), as the female, or seed, parent with the nonpatented Brachycome hybrid cultivar `Break O Day` as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar `Compact Amethyst` was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 1996 as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia.
Asexual reproduction of the new Brachycome by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia, has shown that the unique features of this new Brachycome are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.